Car News, Specs and Reviews

Porsche 911 GT3 vs 911R

It’s super-fast of course, but you don’t feel the need to wring it out in every gear, to go in search of 8,800rpm. Mainly this is because there are laws about that sort of thing, but even if there weren’t I think you’d find yourself being content to shift up at 6,000rpm, to let the car work the mid-range as much as the top end.

It sounds crisp and guttural, but again I’m sure sound has been tuned to suit the car’s attitude. And because you can’t have it in any other spec (no PDK, no optional roll cage, etc.), there’s a wonderful clarity to its sense of purpose. It’s clear Porsche knew exactly what role it wanted this car to fill and fettled it accordingly. Into the GT3.

The new engine is great. Same power and torque as the 911R, delivered at pretty much the same revs, but this astonishing, demented, addictive charge upwards from 7,000rpm to the 9,000rpm cut-out. It’s noisier, the engine has more focus. And so does the chassis.

Where the R exhibited a little roll, just to let you know it was working, the GT3 is tougher, a more forceful personality, it fights the road surface a bit more. The result, not so much of the 60kg extra weight it carries, but its wider role – the GT3 is designed to bridge the road/track divide.

Put it this way, I can only imagine having a 911R with a manual (which is just as well), but the GT3 I could option either way. Given a straight choice I’d have manual for the extra interaction, but if the question were GT3 manual or R, I’d go R.

Not because of future values, but for no other reason than it suits the type of driving I enjoy most. You might feel differently, and that’s fine – both are amazing machines. And besides, this is all purely academic. But know this: if you do have an R, you have the best 911. Well done, you lucky devil.